Signs and tests

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and take the blood pressure and pulse in the arms and legs.

The pulse in the groin (femoral) area or feet will be weaker than the pulse in the arms or neck (carotid). Sometimes, the femoral pulse may not be felt at all.

The blood pressure in the legs is usually weaker than in the arms. Blood pressure is usually higher in the arms after infancy.

The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the heart and check for murmurs. People with aortic coarctation have a harsh-sounding murmur that can be heard from the back. Other types of murmurs may also be present.

Coarctation is often discovered during a newborn's first examination or well-baby exam. Taking the pulse in an infant is an important part of the examination, because there may not be any other symptoms until the child is older.

Both Doppler ultrasound and cardiac catheterization can be used to see if there are any differences in blood pressure in different areas of the aorta.

Treatment

Most newborns with symptoms will have surgery either right after birth or soon afterward. First they will receive medications to stabilize them.

Children who are diagnosed when they are older will also need surgery. Usually, the symptoms are not as severe, and more time will be taken to plan for surgery.

During surgery, the narrowed part of the aorta will be removed or opened. If the problem area is small, the two free ends of the aorta may be re-connected. This is called an end-to-end anastomosis. If a large part of the aorta is removed, a Dacron graft (a man-made material) or one of the patient's own arteries may be used to fill the gap. A tube graft connecting two parts of the aorta may also be used.

Sometimes, doctors will try to stretch open the narrowed part of the aorta by using a balloon that is widened inside the blood vessel. This type of procedure is called a balloon angioplasty. It may be done instead of surgery, but it has a higher rate of failure.

Older children usually need medicines to treat high blood pressure after surgery. Some will need lifelong treatment for this problem.

Expectations (prognosis)

Coarctation of the aorta can be cured with surgery. Symptoms quickly get better after surgery.

However, there is an increased risk for death due to heart problems among those who have had their aorta repaired. Without treatment, most people die before age 40. For this reason, doctors usually recommend that the patient has surgery before age 10. Most of the time, surgery to fix the coarctation is done during infancy.

Narrowing or coarctation of the artery can return after surgery. This is more likely in persons who had surgery as a newborn.

Complications

Complications that may occur before, during, or soon after surgery include: